US 8,711,704 B2 · Method and apparatus for wireless communication in a mesh network with central control of communication relationships

Abstract

A method and apparatus for communication in a wireless sensor network. In one embodiment, one or more routers in a network may be available for communication with one or more star nodes at a randomized time and/or frequency. A connectivity assessment, which may be performed at several different frequencies and/or times, may be performed to evaluate the quality of communications between devices in the network. Primary and secondary communication relationships may be formed between devices to provide for system redundancy. One or more proxies may be maintained where each proxy includes a status of one or more devices in the network, e.g., one or more star nodes or routers. Proxies may be used to handle information requests and/or status change requests, e.g., a proxy may be requested to change a communication relationship between devices in the network and may generate command signals to cause the corresponding devices to make the change.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A mesh network comprising:

multiple nodes including a plurality of star nodes and a plurality of routing nodes, each star node configured to transmit and receive wireless signals, each routing node configured to transmit and receive wireless signals for communication with at least one of the star nodes;
and
a network control device configured to communicate with one or more of the multiple nodes;
wherein at least one of the multiple nodes is configured to perform a connectivity assessment and to send information regarding the connectivity assessment to the network control device, the connectivity assessment indicating a measure of a quality of wireless communication between the at least one node and at least one other device in the mesh network;
and
wherein the network control device is configured to use the information regarding the connectivity assessment to define a communication relationship between the at least one node and the at least one other device, the communication relationship indicating that data is to be transmitted wirelessly between the at least one node and the at least one other device.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

11/776,914Filed 12 Jul 2007 · continuation

Priority

17 Jul 2003

Published

US 2014/0071837 A113 Mar 2014

Granted

29 Apr 2014

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification17 codes

H04L 9/0825
Key transport or distribution, i.e. key establishment techniques where one party creates or otherwise obtains a secret value, and securely…: using…
H04L 5/0037
Arrangements for allocating sub-channels of the transmission path: inter-user or inter-terminal allocation
H04L 9/083
Key transport or distribution, i.e. key establishment techniques where one party creates or otherwise obtains a secret value, and securely…:…
H04L 9/16
Using a plurality of keys or algorithms: the keys or algorithms being changed during operation

Family

Application60/488,491Us provisional application · filed 17 Jul 2003

Application60/487,898Us provisional application · filed 17 Jul 2003

Application60/539,243Us provisional application · filed 26 Jan 2004

Application60/557,026Us provisional application · filed 26 Mar 2004

Application10/836,103Parent of this continuation · filed 30 Apr 2004

US 2014/0071837 A1Pre-grant publication · published 13 Mar 2014

US 7,701,858 B2Parent of this continuation

US 2007/0258508 A1Published application

US 8,711,704 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Method and apparatus for wireless communication in a mesh network with central control of communication relationships

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for wireless communication in a mesh network with central control of communication relationships

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20